Naam Sankirtan - Jet Plane to God

Swami Vibhooti Saraswati

Music has so much power that it can free your ego. Through kirtan
you can reach the highest pinnacle of spiritual experience. Not by yoga
or by any other means but by kirtan alone can you have the vision of the
Divine.
-Swami Satyananda Saraswati

The tradition of naam sankirtan is very ancient. Naam means 'name', sam
means 'complete' and kirtan is the chanting of simple mantras set to music,
together in groups, with rhythm, energy and devotion. The prefix 'sam'
implies that one should sing kirtan with full feeling (bhava), love (prem)
and faith (shraddha). Naam sankirtan is one of the nine forms of bhakti.
In Kali yuga, the present age, the simplest way of attaining peace and
God is through naam sankirtan. "There is no other path, panacea or
way out in the present era," says Sri Swamiji.

The singing of God's name is a science which has been perfected in India
over thousands of years. It is a part of nada yoga, the yoga of sound,
in which you produce sound waves and follow them with your awareness.
Nad means 'flow of sound vibrations', yoga means 'to unite or merge with',
so nada yoga is uniting or merging with these sound vibrations in an attempt
to transcend the mind. Kirtan is mantra or eternal sound. When the mind
becomes one with the nada or sound and the mantra, there is no difference
between the mind and the mantra.

Mantras do not belong to any religion, caste or creed. They transcend
all borders and the chanting of mantras associated with the various religions
opens up the heart to an acceptance of the brotherhood of man. It is of
little importance whether one sings Rama, Krishna, Chandi, Durga, Allah
or Christ, as all are the names of the One Supreme Being. Singing these
mantras to the accompaniment of music, with the correct pronunciation,
beat, rhythm, tune and pitch, and with the whole heart, enables one to
withdraw from the body and the external environment, leaving the mind
and all the prejudices that go with it behind.

Swami Satyananda Saraswati has said, "In the past, I thought that
if people wanted to learn yoga, then it should be taught to them. But
now I say teach naam sankirtan to young and old. The whole atmosphere
will be purified. There will be peace, happiness and well being wherever
kirtan is sung. Kirtan will be the yoga of the 21st century. Just as you
have taken an interest in yoga, you will also take an interest in kirtan.
It is my dream."

Channelling the emotions

Emotions are the eyes through which you can experience a greater love
and awareness. If you want to experience peace and God, you have to develop
the emotional side of your nature.
-Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati

Kirtan is concerned with the emotional personality. It bypasses the mind
altogether. Emotions are very powerful tools in the hands of the aspirant,
and one should conserve and channel the emotional energy very carefully.
Through the intellect you cannot go very deep; you cannot realize the
consciousness. But, using the fuel of the emotions through kirtan, you
can just soar up beyond the mind like a plane taking off into the open
night sky. However, the singing of kirtan is an art and not simply an
emotional outburst. Neither is it only a song by means of which we express
our feelings in an uncontrolled way. Rather, it is the means, the method,
by which we can dive into our emotions, without any interference from
the mind, and experience our inner expansiveness, our inner universe.

The singing of God's name is one way of developing bhakti or one-pointed
devotion towards God. In fact, the relationship between devotee and God
should start with singing of the name. Name or mantra is a method, but
actually it is your own inner feeling, your emotion, that is important.
These emotions, which are usually so unruly, uncontrollable and dissipated,
can be focused and channelled towards the object of devotion or God through
the means of naam sankirtan.

When one sings without ego, with fully focused awareness and intensity,
straight from the seat of the emotions at anahata, one can ignite and
unite the hearts of others/ and help them transcend through the combined
power of the emotions. Regarding the emotions and kirtan, Sri Swamiji
says, "When you practise kirtan you are travelling by the jet of
emotions and therefore you do not confront the mind at all. If your emotions
are charged just by hearing the name of God, you can go into a trance."

Bhava samadhi - trance

The point of singing God's name is divine intoxication, divine ecstasy.
'Harinaam ka pyala peekar aur pilakar ban ja tu matavala' - Drink the
glass of wine filled with God's name yourself serve it to others and become
ecstatic. If you could sing just one line of kirtan for three to four
hours, you would go into bhava samadhi.
- Swami Satyananda Saraswati

When total harmony between body, mind and prana takes place, together
with the mantra, it is known as bhava samadhi, or ecstasy, where action
and emotion fuse into one, and we develop awareness of the inner spirit,
or atman. When kirtan is sung correctly with the right rhythm and harmony,
it restructures the whole pranic flow, as the body and mind move with
the rhythm of the music and mantra. If you continue singing kirtan with
devotion in the same rhythm, slowly and steadily, and build to a climax
very slowly, you will go into a trance, into bhava samadhi. Chaitanya

Mahaprabhu - and many other saints - used to move about in this state.
Intoxicated by the name of God, he would be followed by a gathering of
villagers, singing and dancing in ecstasy.

Effects of kirtan

God's name is like a detergent that cleans the karmas. It cleans the
dross of the soul which you have accumulated during the course of this
life and of many past lives. By constantly remembering the name, man can
cross over the ocean of life to the other side. The Lord's name is the
redeemer of all physical, mental and social illnesses.
-Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Kirtan opens up the heart and purifies the atmosphere. As Sri Swamiji
says, "It is like waving a stick of incense in the air." It
creates such pure, positive energy that no evil spirits or negative influences
can enter the environment where it is sung. In the house where kirtan
is done regularly, both mental and physical sickness will be warded off.
Kirtan is also the best way to relax and to raise your energy. It helps
to make you free from tension, high blood pressure and other stress-related
diseases, bringing about happiness and mental peace. So, when you come
home tired and strained from a stressful day at the office, just sit down
quietly, close your eyes and sing a few kirtans with your friends or family
and see the effect.

Kirtan removes the fears, inhibitions, suppressions and neuroses, from
which the people of the 21st century suffer so acutely. Regarding this
Sri Swamiji says, "When you sing kirtan you must come down from the
pulpit of the ego and think, 'I am nothing'. Then you can transcend the
complexes and blocks. You should have no inhibitions about two things:
eating and singing God's name."

Kirtan is a great aid to meditation. The higher the velocity, the lower
the frequency and the higher the frequency, the lower the velocity. Velocity
pertains to the mind, which is very active. The mind must lose its velocity
and attain frequency. This is possible through kirtan. After singing kirtan
for half an hour or an hour, the brainwaves slowly convert to alpha, so
kirtan is an important method for obtaining pratyahara, the state in which
the mind is withdrawn from the external senses and becomes tranquil. In
this way many minds become as one mind. The brainwaves also affect the
heart and blood circulation. In fact, the name of God influences both
the mental and physical chemistry. After a session of kirtan it is very
easy to concentrate the mind. In the words of Swami Satyananda, "Sing
kirtan for about half an hour, then sit quietly for meditation. If you
have involved yourself completely in the kirtan, when you sit for meditation
you will find that the highway is clear. There will be no traffic jams
on the mental plane."

Swami Sivananda

Swami Sivananda was a great sankirtanist. He also developed a unique
way of teaching through simple songs and kirtans (in both Hindi and English)
into which he wove his fundamental teachings. According to Swami Sivananda,
"Singing the names of God is the quickest, safest, cheapest, surest
and best way to reach God." He had so much faith in the name that
he used to turn up an hour early at his friends' functions just to purify
the atmosphere with his kirtans.

Let us end with a message from him regarding the power of naam sankirtan:
"Friend, the glory of the name of God cannot be established through
reasoning. It can certainly be experienced through faith, devotion and
constant repetition of the Name. Have reverence and faith for the Name.
Every Name is filled with countless powers. Take refuge in the Name and
cross this formidable ocean of birth and death. Name and nami (one who
chants the name) are inseparable. Glory to the Lord. Glory to his Name."